The Great Devourer
by LoverOfGames
Summary: A tyranid splinter fleet is thrown into the Star Wars galaxy at the dawn of the Clone Wars. Things will never be the same again.
1. Introduction

**HI! This is LoverofGames. I will try to get up more updates, and possibly longer chapters in the future with summer break approaching, but I'm not going to be able to promise anything. Anyway, onto the story!**

The Tyranids were an all-consuming force that had left countless galaxies barren behind them. No one knew where the Tyranids came from, who had created them, or anything else about their background. Even the very name 'tyranid' was merely a label, given to them by their foes. What IS known about the tyranids, however, is cause for great concern.

The Tyranids are an extragalactic race of biological horrors that vary in shape and function. They can be smaller than a child, or larger than a super-heavy tank. They outnumbered the stars, and as they devoured the planets in their path their numbers were replenished. They did not take permanent losses easily, as all of their dead were consumed as well. A single planet, once devoured, could easily give the tyranids billions of soldiers.

They are led by a massive consciousness dubbed the 'Hive Mind', and it was ancient. It had existed ever since the birth of their race, and they are all connected to it. Its sheer presence could block out communications and warp travel, leaving lone planets helpless.

Their other most notable feature is their adaptability. Whenever the swarms met a threat that their current tactics of rushing them would not work, they would immediately begin mutations that would enable them to bypass these dangers. Powerful lasers and projectiles would be met with thicker carapaces designed to deal with them, powerful armor would result in sharper claws and stronger arms. With this, and their sheer numbers, they had destroyed everything in their path for aeons.

Currently the Tyranids were being held up by the Imperium and all of its foes in the Milky Way galaxy. This is where multiple vanguard fleets had been destroyed, and their splinters scattered everywhere. This is the story of one such splinter.

When Hive Fleet Leviathan was destroyed, it spawned a countless number of splinter fleets. One of these was moving through space, being driven by the call of the Hive Mind, when they encountered a bump in the road in the form of a warp storm.

The nameless splinter fleet tried to move out, but in vain. The warp storm swallowed it, and sent it spiraling throughout dimensions into a galaxy that had not known true conflict for a thousand years. Now it was at the dawn of a galaxy-encompassing war, and the fleet's arrival would have profound effects on its future.

**Endor**

The ragged fleet moved out of the storm, just as it dissipated. The tyrant was the first to wake. First, its fleets needed food. Specifically, something that could be broken down for biomass to heal and create. The warp storm had ravaged the splinter fleet, leaving only five or six hundred vessels total. The Tyrant needed to restore its fleets, and to do so, it need biomass. It could detect a great source of it on a small moon. Eagerly, it ordered the fleets in its direction.

The Ewoks had lived on Endor for untold ages. It had seen visits from lost spacefarer crews, and those tales had grown into myths. The present-day Ewoks, however, did not expect their new visitors to come in biological ships. Nothing happened for days, except a massive, overcharged growth of the already lush vegetation. Soon, it was so thick that moving on the ground was nearly impossible. The Ewoks were confused and amazed. They knew that the strange, new visitors had something to do with it, but they had no idea what or why.

Back at the ships, the reigning hive tyrant was confused. The voice of the Hive Mind, ever-present and guiding until now, was not there. There was the minor 'chorus' that the other Tyranids made, but that was absolutely nothing compared to what it usually was. Now that the Tyrant was on its own, it had to make its own decisions. It looked at the lush green moon underneath him, and sent an order. Normally, the Tyranids would 'farm' planets and moons like this for biomass. However, in this case the splinter fleet needed to get rolling again, and thus the Tyrant ordered the total consumption of Endor. The sheer amount of biomass on Endor would be enough to make billions of tyranid warriors, and to repair the damaged fleet. Hundreds of bio-ships had been lost in the storm, and this moon was exactly what it needed.

Even better, the creature had noticed many asteroids moving here with great frequency. It ordered them seeded with genestealers, then directed elsewhere. It needed to know just what was in this galaxy; troops, technological level, and how much of a threat they posed.

Now that the problem of food and scouting had been taken care of, it had one last problem to deal with. Norn queens. The splinter fleet had only had a few dozen Norn queens to begin with, and it needed them in order to create and engineer new strains of tyranids. The problem was that the warp storm had destroyed the hive-ships in which they were stored, killing them. Without them, the Tyranids would stagnate, and die off. The possibility was even greater in this galaxy; after all, who knew what could be out there? However, it couldn't create them. Not yet. The fleet was still recovering, and every last scrap of biomass had to go to healing it, and the hive ships in which they would be placed.

The Tyrant looked at Endor, and ordered its consumption.

The spores began to fall, and with them, the vanguard of the Tyranid fleet.

**Ten Days after the Landing**

The Ewoks were terrified. The newcomers had launched an all-out invasion, and they were crushing whatever lay in their path. The forest ground was too dangerous to walk on, for it teemed with Tyranid rippers that would tear apart any Ewok unfortunate enough to fall. Nor were their villages safe, high in the tree's as they were. The newcomers had brought huge monsters that would fell the trees themselves, then the surrounded Ewoks would be torn apart.

At the beginning, the Ewoks had set up traps and ambushes. The massive swarm of termagaunts, hormagaunts, and rippers had torn through these with insulting ease. The villages were cut off and surrounded within days. Every hour, waves upon waves of screeching monstrosities would rush at the villages, only to be repulsed by waves of spears and large stones. That and the many that made it could not reach the Ewoks, high up in their tree forts. For three days it went on like this, until the newcomers brought in a terrifying monster that weathered everything that was thrown at it and destroyed everything in its path: the carnifexes.

When the Ewoks first saw them trying to fell a tree, they laughed. That is, until they witnessed the carnifexes simply crush the roots with their claws, and then simply ram it until it fell. With this methodical, slow means, the villages fell one by one.

Within the month, all resistance had been crushed. The Tyranids then used their standard procedure on the small moon. The ripper swarms tore everything on the planet apart: trees, bushes, animals. They would then move back to digestion pools to be consumed, and then sucked up through the capillary towers into the hive ships. The atmosphere was 'absorbed' as well, and this led to the evaporation of the oceans as raw, unfiltered sunlight struck them. This too was absorbed. Before two months had ended, Endor had been turned from an ecological marvel in space, to a barren, lifeless rock.

If the Tyrant had the capacity for free thought enough to smile or feel satisfaction, it would have. As it was, it immediately ordered the construction on more hive-ships, and Norn queens on the existing ones. As the fleet, which now numbered a few thousands, carried out his orders, it decided to watch and wait for information from its scouts.


	2. Rise of the Swarm

**Taris, 4 Months Later**

Long ago, Taris had been the site of a massive civil war that had left the upper and lower classes irrevocably separated. It was minor, out of the way, had a fairly small population and best of all; no one really ever paid attention to it, particularly the lower classes. This also made it perfect for the genestealers to set up a cult. Taris had also alerted it, and by extension the tyrant, to two things. One, these sentients possessed space-travel, and two; there was a great deal of genetic diversity. This was good, as the fleet was always on the search for new genes to perfect the swarms.

Several days later, the cult was in its infancy. The broodlord and its retinue had infected several species, and soon there were dozens of infected humans and aliens wandering the streets of the Lower City of Taris.

Now the tyrant sent the genestealers their directive for the next few generations: watch, wait, and expand.

**Taris, 36 Years Later**

Taris was once again a battleground as forces of the True Eye and the forces of the Upper City engaged in battle. Two years ago, the cult of the True Eye had formed out of the Under City, taking the Middle City by storm. Its teachings taught peace and co-habitation with aliens, something that the Upper City despised. However, the human nobles though it to be nothing but a passing fad, and ignored it.

Until, 3 months ago, the Upper City fell under attack by screaming hordes of cultists. Their weapons were primitive, most using knives and the most basic slug-throwers, while some were unarmed. It was a simply matter for the security forces to mow them down by the hundreds. However, for each man that fell, five more took his place, and some of them were not normal.

Dubbed 'elites' by the nobles and their forces, each one resembled a human with multiple, clawed limbs. These first-generation infected, as they were, were far stronger and faster than a normal human. When they were first encountered, they slaughtered the guard forces in minutes.

The first-generation infected would shatter the firing lines, and the screaming mobs would overwhelm the fleeing guards. The forces of the Upper City were getting overwhelmed in each and every conflict. The nobles desperately sent distress signals, but to their horror they realized that the True Eye had destroyed their communications arrays. It would be months until the next shipment of food, and the human nobles realized with horror that now, the cult they had thought a non-factor was, in fact, an organized rebellion.

One month later, and the Upper City had fallen. The human nobles huddled desperately in the corners of their cells, terrified of their fate. They watched as a man, the Magus and the public voice of the cult, strode in, and immediately they were hypnotized by his voice. Everything he did, everything he said, all seemed to make _so much sense_. It was as if he spoke the words of God, and they listened.

"Hello, nobles. I am certain you are all anxious to be away from here, so I will keep this meeting brief. We are going to let you all go, however, under one condition."

They could hardly believe their ears. They had oppressed and put down the lower classes for millennia, and now their leader had decided to let them go. All it would take was to undergo an experimental surgical procedure. Then, after that, they would be free to leave.

They all agreed immediately. Each one simply wanted to take the remains of his or her fortune, and get away to a more civilized, developed planet. And thus, the last true humans on Taris were infected by the cult.

When they stepped outside, the former humans stepped into an unrecognizable place. The city bore no scars of the war, and everything seemed normal. The first ships were already beginning to land, bearing new, potential victims.

What happened? Simply put; all of the cults' attentions were directed to the restoration of the port and the Middle City in order to bring in prey. No one ever went to the Upper, Lower, and the Under city. If they did, and they saw the scars of the war and the hidden first and second generation hybrids, they were quickly and quietly removed.

Back at the main fleet, en route to Taris, the tyrant would have scowled. As it was, all it did was emanate a strong negative field. It had been planning on consuming Taris, but until more cults could be established, Taris would have to remain un-devoured. The reason was simple. The fleet was still recovering, and if news spread of an alien terror that consumed planets, the response could be powerful enough to shatter the fleet completely. As of now, the best course was to watch, wait and expand the infection.

At Taris, each infected noble boarded a ship bound for a separate planet. Stowed away with each were several genestealers, ready to infect once they had reached their destinations. With the fall of Taris, came a domino effect that would lead to cults on every civilized planet in the Outer Rim.

In a few months, there were cults on dozens of planets in the Outer Rim, and several in the Middle Rim worlds as well. On one of these worlds, an event would happen that would shake the galaxy.

**Bisaan, Trade Federation space**

Bisaan was a relatively minor world that belonged to the Trade Federation. On it passed through countless immigrants of all species. However, two of these so-called immigrants were not what they seemed.

The Neimodian enforcer padded along his squad of four battle droids in what he fondly assumed was a discreet manner. The two Jedi he was tailing, however, knew everything.

At first glance they seemed to be two normal human travelers, a boy and his father. However, they were not planning on going places a normal traveler would go. The two Jedi, a padawan and his master, were investigating Federation assets when they received a signal from a growing social movement called the True Eye. The message had stated that they had information on the assets, along with a meeting time and place.

The Jedi, Master Orsan and his pupil Tirii, were on their way to the meeting place, however first they needed to lose the droids. They kept on walking, all the way into a secluded area where there weren't many people. Suddenly, they took off.

In the distance they could hear the Neimodians shouts of 'After them!' and the mechanical clanking as the droids obeyed. After about a few minutes of sharp twists and turns they had reached the meeting place. Turning, they both drew and activated their lightsabers in perfect unison, just as the first of the droids rounded the corner. They prepared themselves for the hail of blaster bolts, when help arrived in the form of…_something_.

It was nothing like the two had ever seen before. It seemed mostly human; however it had three segmented arms and a large, bulbous head filled with sharp teeth. One of the arms ended in a trio of wicked-looking claws, while the other two had a knife and a blaster. The thing itself seemed to be wearing some form of body armor, and the Jedi watched as it tore into the droids.

The first droid it merely crushed under its weight as it fell from the roofs. The one closest to it was pulled and used as a bullet shield, before the thing threw the destroyed machine at the two remainders and rushed them. One it shot with the blaster on its way, and the other's head it tore off.

The Jedi braced themselves for this new threat when suddenly, from behind them, a deep voice came out.

"Do not worry, friends, Alexis here will only harm you if I order him to."

Orsan and Tirii both whirled around to see a tall human behind them. He carried an ornate staff, and was dressed in fine robes. The man continued.

"I see you have decided to come after. Come. Our headquarters is a short distance from here and there are many enemies about."

Orsan stared at the man before asking, "Wait. Before we go with you, I have two questions. The rest I will ask later."

The man paused, before stating, "What would you like to know?"

"Are you the contact, and what is that thing over there?" Orsan replied cautiously.

"Yes, I am the contact. I am Magus Dorna, and Alexis over there is the unfortunate product of a biological experiment. Come quickly, more will be coming and Alexis himself cannot hold them all."

While they were walking, Tirii asked his master something that had been nagging at him for a while.

"Master, are you sure we can trust him? Something about him seems…off. I feel…hypnotized, almost, whenever he speaks. It almost as if he is trying to bend me to his will, if that's possible."

"Tirii, I have the same suspicions about this man as well, particularly about Alexis. However, for now we must trust him. He may have information about the assets and may be a valuable ally. If not, then we may have uncovered something far more sinister."

They walked in silence for the rest of the trip only looking around to check that Alexis had not, in fact, tried to sneak up on them and gut them. They turned a corner, and gasped.

The headquarters, if it could be called that, of the True Eye was a ramshackle, worn-down ware-house. That was not what made them gasp, for even that shabbiest of dwellings could be filled to the brim with computers and information gathering technology. No, what made them gasp were the humans that were _crawling_ on the walls. They were like Alexis, in that they were mutated. However, there were also very many much more normal people wandering outside. Most of them had a minor genetic flaw, usually one that represented itself as a third eye, bulging forehead, or some other fairly minor defect.

Orsan ran up to Dorna and asked him. "Just how big of an experiment was this? There must be hundreds of these people, and dozens of them are like Alexis."

"The experiment was an airborne virus that caused drastic mutations in some, and less in others. It was easily spread, due to its nature. Come, let us quickly go and meet my master, the Patriarch."

Tirii opened his mouth to ask something, but it died on his lips as he beheld the inside of the facility.

Inside was, well, something that seemed more at home in a cheap horror-holo rather than in reality. It seemed to be a hive of True Eye cultists, and in the center lay the most disgusting thing Orsan and Tirii had ever seen.

On a throne in the center, surrounded by robed cultists, was a monstrosity. It had four arms, two of them normal and the other two ending in segmented claws like Alexis. It was heavily scarred and mutated, with only one eye clearly visible and the other lost in a mass of pustules and boils. It was fat, too, comparable to a Hutt. It wore ornate robes, and was quite obviously the one in charge.

Orsan and Tirii both immediately drew their lightsabers. The tip-off had been a trap, and now they would have to pay for it. Already they could see the cultists surrounding the entrance. They would have to fight their way out.

Dorna turned, and smiled. "Welcome. Please, submit and save yourselves meaningless pain and agony. The procedure will be swift, and once done you two will see truth."

Thousands of light years away, near the barren remains of Taris, the Hive Tyrant sent his orders. It had learned of these 'Jedi', and if it could assimilate one of them, the possibilities were endless. It knew of these strange 'Force' powers they wielded, and if it could deploy shock troops with those powers, it could give them a major advantage. At the very least, it could give them something to counter these powers.

The Tyrant directed the genestealers, and the cultists indirectly, to capture and contain these two. If possible, infect them.

Back on Bisaan, Tirii and Orsan prepared for the fight of their lives.

(A.N. New first chappie!)


	3. Beginning of a New war

**A.N. Thanks for all the reviews guys! Especially yuzah, thanks for telling me how to improve. I'll try to start getting in depth starting from this chapter. Anyway, onto the story!**

Ariin Daltor had been a Neimodian enforcer on this planet for many years. He had put down several uprisings against the working conditions in the factories with violence. After all, organics were cheaper than droids and hey, if a couple dozen or hundred died, well, there were a lot more from where they came from. With his methods of blood and efficiency, he had risen through the ranks as one of the best enforcers.

However, recently there had been rumors of a Jedi investigation into the Federation's methods on this planet. As such, his superiors had gotten him, the best and the most inconspicuous, to track them and if necessary, to terminate them with extreme prejudice. After all, he had over a hundred battle droids, five droideka, and several Twi'lek mercenaries. What the kriff could two Jedi do against that? Of course, he may not even need to give the attack order.

He had recently been contacted by a cult of some sort called the True Eye. It gave him an offer: they would draw in and eliminate the Jedi if possible, in return for the bodies of the Jedi. As proof, their robes and lightsabers would be given. He had been ecstatic. The Jedi Council could only blame the cult for their deaths if that unpleasant affair ever got it out, and he would make sure it did. Of course, this would be after he had eliminated all traces of his contacts with the cult. Thus, he could kill two birds with one stone. Of course there would be the manner of the forces sent to fight the cult, but that could easily be covered up in a convenient, unfortunate fuel tank explosion.

However, the cult had sent him requests to cover the exits it had outlined, just in case the Jedi managed to get past the hundreds of members. He could agree with their fears; it always paid to be extra careful. Even if it didn't, it would make a good impression on visitors. So, he had assigned a drodeka, several mercs, and twenty droids to each of the five exits. Well out of sight from any annoying cameras, of course.

Daltor himself was monitoring the progress of the Jedi. Once the cult had surrounded them, he turned off the cameras. That confirmation had been all he had needed, and he had never liked the sight of blood. He decided to go back, and inform his superiors of the unfortunate fate of the two humans at the hands of the cult.

He turned to one of the street cameras, and saw his worst fears coming to life.

**Alleys of Bisaan**

"Master, they're gaining!"

"I know, I have a plan!"

Covered in cuts, scrapes, and blood, Orsan and Tirii were running from their lives from the horde of cultists. Among them were seemingly ordinary civilians, civilians that seemed a bit more bestial or had three eyes, and cultists _with multiple clawed, segmented limbs_. They had made an incredible jump over the heads of the cultists, but had still landed in the fringes of the group. After cutting down the first few to try and take them, they ran.

The two rounded a corner, and Orsan yelled, "Now Tirii! Jump and grab the pipes!"

The two lept to either sides of the wall and clung to the pipes that ran up them. Tirii looked to the exit, and nearly froze. There were a few mercs and battle droids, however the problem lay in the single droideka. Within moments, they would either fall and be torn apart, or be shot.

Tirii heard the sounds of horde getting closer, and waited for his inevitable demise at the hail of blaster bolts. It didn't come.

When he opened his eyes again, he nearly fell off in shock. The cultists were tearing into the droids and mercs, heedless of the blaster bolts that cut them down by the dozen. The droideka alone had racked up over five dozen kills and were not slowing down. As he watched them mow down the cultists en masse, Tirii thought that the cultists may be repulsed. However, as the mass of insane mutants and cultists kept getting closer and closer, he remembered a crucial lesson on droids: _Droideka shields can be overcharged by a sufficient number of hits, or by being knocked into a wall or floor._ Turns out, a wall of flesh had the same effect. Once the horde reached the droids, the sheer volume of contact points on the shields sparked it out, and then the destroyer immediately began to be torn apart.

Tirii realized where one of the cultist's shots was aimed, and Orsan, having noticed the same thing, yelled a warning. "Cover yourself!" The next thing he knew, there was a bright flash of light, and there were bodies everywhere. The core of the destroyer had been breached, and had undergone a 'catastrophic reactor failure'. In layman's terms, it exploded, sending heat and white-hot shrapnel everywhere.

Tirii uncovered his eyes, wincing at the numerous cuts from the hot shrapnel that now laced his person. Orsan had fared little better, and a particularly nasty piece had almost embedded itself in his shoulder. Below, the cultists had been, for lack of a better term, 'gibbed', with charred black body parts everywhere, some stuck to the wall by shrapnel like demented hors d'oeuvres. Even the cultists themselves seemed to be stunned with a couple just picking themselves up and others swaying from side to side, dazed by the explosion.

"Climb!" Orsan yelled at Tirii, shaking him out of his stupor. Slowly, laboriously, both of the Jedi began to climb up their respective buildings. It was a surreal experience. Near the bottom they could see the human wave of cultists swarming down the alley ignoring them completely. They could hear screams, gunshots, and the cries of the dying from the streets as they fell upon an unsuspecting populace.

Eventually, after climbing twenty stories and moving onto the rooftops, the two Jedi immediately began to run and jump across the buildings towards the starport. The Senate and the Council needed to know about this new threat. As they ran, they noticed that the Federation headquarters on this planet was being besieged.

**Inside Trade Federation Headquarters**

Ariin Daltor was terrified. Those damned cultists that had contacted him had shown themselves to be a MUCH more influential group than he had suspected. When he began receiving reports of their attack, he laughed. After all, what on earth could a bunch of cultists do against his private army? As it turned out, they could turn the droids into scrap metal, and reduce the mercenaries into an unrecognizable mass of flesh and bone.

_Damn it all! This was supposed to be the highlight of my career!_ Daltor kept thinking to himself as he ran through the hallways. He looked back and screamed as he realized that the cultists were gaining on him. In desperation, he grabbed two fleeing employees and threw them to the madmen. Ignoring their screams of pain and cries for help, he ran.

Ariin Daltor was expecting to see a waiting personal starship on the roof of the building. As he made it to the lift, he punched in directions to take him to the roof and sat down. The sheer horror of the situation finally dawned on him as he realized that he had lost everything. His career and reputation were in shambles, and he had no home. Doubtless in the confusion of the attack his personal accounts had been looted or destroyed, if not simply claimed by another enterprising member of the Federation. Even if he survived this whole debacle, he would have nothing and would be forced into the drudgery of those he once commanded. This is, of course, assuming he wasn't simply gotten rid of by those who would want to cover this up.

So engrossed in his own thoughts, the Neimodian never heard the creature slip onto the lift. He didn't see the creature as it silently crawled down the wall, and never noticed it as it raised its clawed hand to strike. The monster let loose a low growl as it thrust its arm forward and as Daltor turned, he was skewered on the things arm. The last thing he saw before darkness claimed his vision was a white monstrosity with a bulbous head, complete with a tooth-filled maw and red eyes that glinted with a savage intelligence and hunger.

**Rooftops of Bisaan**

Orsan and Tirii ran along the rooftops, trying to ignore the cries of the wounded and dying in the streets below. As they ran, Orsan was thinking on how to get off the planet.

_Hijacking a starship would be our best bet, but the problem would be making sure none of those cultists got on before we lifted off. A small ship would be best, but all of those would have lifted off a long time ago, right after the attacks began. Then there the matter of finding a starship that actually works._

As if hearing his thoughts, Tirii spoke up.

"Master, how exactly are we going to get off the planet? By now, most of the starships that could escape will have left, and the big ships are going to need more than just the two of us to pilot."

"I don't know, apprentice, but I will try and come up with an idea by the time we reach the starport. At the very least, we must let the Jedi Council know about these abominations, and that this 'cult' is a major threat."

They paused then, to catch their breath, but as they stood back up they both noticed something off about the planets sky: it had turned from a dull grey from smoke and smog, into something that resembled what an insane besalisk would create after having taken a pound of hard drugs, and his attempted recreation of what he saw. There was every color imaginable in the skies above Bisaan, and a few that neither of them had ever known existed. Furthermore, as they watched, they thought they could see something raining from the skies. Oddly enough, from this distance they looked like spores…

**Sorry for the shortness, but I thought that after all this time, getting a short chapter out was better than an even longer delay with none at all.**


	4. Response to Bisaan

**I am fairly sure that this is my longest chapter ever, so enjoy!**

Coruscant was the shining capital of the Galactic Republic. Nearly the entire planet had been turned into one super-city, with skyscrapers dwarfing the planet's natural mountains. It was the most populated city in the entire galaxy, and home to countless persons of great importance. It was the home of the center of Galactic politics, the Senate District, in which hundreds of representatives tried to push forward their planet's goals, or their own. It was center of the economy as well, due to its location at the center of hyperspace coordinates. It held the repository of knowledge known as the University of Coruscant, and hosted great patrons of the arts who supported structures like the Galaxies Opera House. Despite all of this, one indescribably important and old structure stood out among the rest: the Jedi Temple. In the High Council Tower, the Jedi Council met to discuss the current matters of importance and in general, lead the Jedi as a whole in terms of decision-making.

One fateful day, the members of the Jedi Council were convening, all in person from Yoda to Plo Koon, because of some unsettling news. A message had come from Bisaan, and while this was to be expected, what was not expected was the garbled nature of the message. As its final moments played out, the twelve masters seated around it looked on in rapt attention.

Orsan looked like hell. He was covered in cuts and bruises, and blood was flowing freely from a puncture wound in his shoulder. The background ambience consisted of yelling, the crackle of a lightsaber, and a thousand shrieks and snarls. "This is Jedi Kni-*GHSHSK*-rsan! Bisaan has fallen under attack by an unk-*GSHKKSHK*-my! The spaceport has been overrun and-MASTER THERE ARE TOO-*" at that point the sound of a body dropping could be heard as the sounds of the lighstaber and Tirii's voice abruptly ceased. Orsan whipped around in horror but before he could utter a word, a creature that none of the Master's had ever seen before leaped onto him. It was vaguely humanoid, but only in that it had two legs and two arms which ended in long, blood-red scythes. It had a reptilian mouth filled with teeth, and it had a purplish-red layer of carapace over its body, which terminated in a relatively short, thick tail, ostensibly for balance. Orsan was impaled through both shoulders, and his scream of pain was quickly cut off by having his throat torn out by the thing. The corpse fell onto the communications array, and the transmission stopped.

Silence reigned in the council chamber as this new development was processed. Finally, Master Mace Windu spoke.

"We have to find out about this new enemy: what it is, what it wants, and how to defeat it."

Master Tiin then added his two cents to the conversation. "I agree. These creatures have already proven themselves to be hostile, and we need to know about their capabilities. We also should let the Senate know about this, it's clear that these things will not discriminate."

"A great shadow, there is, in the Force. An endless hunger, I have sensed. Coincidence that these creatures have also appeared, I think not." Yoda began to inform the others in his own particular methods of speech.

Depa Billaba then asked something that had been on the others minds as well. "What about trying to find out more about these creatures? How should we go about doing this? I propose that we send a team of senior Jedi to investigate."

Windu concurred with her, as did Yoda, Tiin, Eeth Koth, and after about five minutes of consideration all of the Masters had agreed. They would send Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and A'Sharad Hett to the systems near Bisaan in order to try and figure out more about the Swarm, while the Council would try and deal with the political hell that would follow on releasing information of the Swarm's existence to the Galactic Senate.

**Route from Taris to Bisaan, Midway.**

The Tyrant was confused, or as confused as something with its level of self-awareness could get. It had succeeded in killing two of these 'jedi', and already their bodies were in the process of being assimilated by the ripper swarms. This had been very good news, as now the Tyrant could study their genes and figure out everything about them, or at least these two specimens. The process was not complete yet, however, due to the presence of some foreign cells that were actively working against the assimilation. What was most puzzling was their ability to send transmissions.

The Tyranids possessed a unique ability known as the 'Shadow in the Warp' which completely nullified all communications to a planet that had been targeted. Utilizing method had given the Tyranids an advantage over the humans back in their home galaxy; however the fact that these people had managed to get off a transmission was troubling, as were its implications.

Before the Tyrant had been basing its decisions and assumptions on the premise that this galaxy, though different in terms of species composition, was still similar to his home in how things worked, namely FTL, communications, and the like. However the fact that these people were using an unknown method of communications meant that all of their other technology could be radically different as well. In short, an advantage the Hive Tyrant thought it had possessed was in fact nonexistent.

Its rudimentary mind processed this information as he relayed his orders to the rest of his fleets. Ever since the assimilation of Taris and a dozen other worlds which he had destroyed before they could call for help, the fleet had grown tremendously. It now numbered in the tens of thousands, spread over six distinct fleets. The first one, the one that had attacked Bisaan, was the smallest at only 2,500 bio-ships ranging from void fiends to devourer cruisers, with a 'core' of about a hundred hive ships. The four expeditionary fleets that had been going through the Outer Rim on a feeding frenzy from the sheer number of planets numbered at 3,000 assorted bio-ships. However, the largest was the hive fleet that had taken Taris and also hosted the Tyrant. This fleet numbered at 8,000 bio-ships and held the greatest number of hive ships at 750.

The Hive Tyrant looked at the possible courses of action, and decided to start expanding and assimilating in earnest. Before Bisaan it had been able to be slow and methodical because none of the planets had ever managed to get out distress signals. Now that the Galaxy knew of its presence, it needed to destroy and consume as many planets as possible and build its forces as much as it possibly could in the timeframe that it had before the races of the galaxy could mount a concerted resistance.

Following this path of logic, the Tyrant commanded the hive fleets to spread as far and wide as possible, and began the construction of several hundreds more bio-ships. Its last act before ordering the beginnings of constructing a new body for it to inhabit was to break the main fleet off from its current route and head instead towards the greatest psychic beacon it's infiltrators had created for it; Nar Shaddaa.

**Coruscant**

"- are their motives? Perhaps they can be-"

"- people are directly in front of this new threat! I demand that-"

"What do we have to defend ourselves-"

"-study this new species. It could hold massive potential-"

"-the rulers in the Rim? Surely we must do-"

"Order! We will have order in the Senate!"

Mas Amedda's voice boomed over the arguing senators, provoking a reluctant silence from each of the hundreds of dignitaries in the room. He motioned to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who took his cue to speak.

"It is clear that this new development must be dealt with swiftly and effectively. However, arguing like a bunch of madmen will get us nowhere. Now, let us proceed to discuss this matter calmly and without fuss, so that we may take action sooner."

Emboldened by these words one of the representatives from the Middle Rim immediately began to speak up. "These aliens have already taken Taris, and are less than 1,000 light-years from my home planet! What if these creatures were to set their eyes upon my home planet, or any of the adjoining star systems for that matter!? I demand that something be done to ensure the safety of my people!"

Another ambassador, presumably one whose system of origin was far away from the hive fleet, raised his own point. "While I must sympathize with my fellow ambassador, we should not be too hasty in attempting to destroy these life forms. We can only assume they came from the unknown regions, as something of this scope should have by all rights been spotted before. I propose that we attempt to study these creatures for a better idea on what we may expect from future developments concerning unknown space, and once we have finished studying them-"

"No! I will not endanger my people to satisfy mere scientific curiosity! I demand that the safety of my people be ensured before any so-called 'studies' are done! We may not even gain any information from these beasts!"

At this point one of the ambassadors who had been a part of the previous discussion began to raise an important point, one which many of the other dignitaries wondered. "Now I must agree that something must be done to make sure all of our worlds are safe, not just those in the immediate proximity of this alien fleet. However, with what will we defend ourselves? We have no standing fleet or army; the Republic has been at peace for a millennium!"

"Then get the Jedi to do it! I will ensure the continued existence of my people so that my planet will not be razed like Taris!"

The ambassadors of the hundreds of star systems continued to bandy words back and forth, continuously arguing the safety of the Republic versus the possible scientific benefits of the fleet. In the end, Palpatine informed the representatives that the Jedi had decided upon an investigative course of action, and that it would be prudent to simply watch what the results of the monastic warriors were. This was eventually agreed upon to be the best course of action at the present, but all of the representatives inwardly decided to send word to their home planets that it would be wise to begin to arm themselves.

After that point of discussion, the Senate began to look at the situation concerning the Seperatist movement, currently being led by the Neimodian Trade Federation.


	5. HoloNet News: Breaking Story

**Two Days After the Meeting of the Galactic Senate**

The Galactic Senate had stood firm for hundreds of years, weathering crises after crises ranging from economic turbulence to conflicts that could have erupted into full-scale wars. After all this, it still had remained a unified whole and now, after a thousand years of peace, it faced a new threat: the Separatists. Led by the Neimodians of the Trade Federation, the Separatists gained more and more economic and political power daily. They had taken in financial powers such as the InterGalactic Banking Clan and the Corporate Alliance, and had rallied hundreds of planets to their cause. They were pushing to overthrow the Republic which they had decried as stagnant and corrupt, and reinstate a new, better one in its stead. The CIS, as it was formally known, was attempting to destroy the very Republic itself, surely, the senators though, in these times there was no greater threat?

Wrong.

The senators, after that day's meeting, had all relaxed and gone to their separate quarters pushing the day's revelation of a new alien species to the back of their minds. Despite it being very new, it had only destroyed one planet thus far and couldn't be that big of a threat, now, could it? Most likely the Jedi would investigate, find some sort of disgusting space-faring vermin that had been left to rot in the dark corners of the universe, exterminate it, and come back. Problem solved. Anyhow, this threat paled in the wake of the Separatists, who were growing bolder and more outspoken in their demands for major political reform. Now there was a threat that needed to be nipped! After all, in the ensuing chaos of the events that would follow the rise of a new government, countless lives would be lost and the Senators would lose their positions!

The next day, dozens of dignitaries woke up to urgent messages from home, blaring out that their worlds were in the throes of civil war as cultists began to rise up against the governments. All over the Galaxy, from random planets in the Outer Rim to industrial worlds in the Middle Rim, anarchy was breaking out as these strange cults began to riot and rebel, slaughtering government enforcers and innocent bystanders alike. Reports were coming in that the members of the cults all bore some mutation or other and how all appeared to make use of some horrific, universal attack animal. These animals bore six limbs: two strong, sturdy legs and four incredibly powerful arms, one pair with horrifically sharp claws and the other pair bearing clawed hands. They had extremely bulbous heads and mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth, and their entire bodies were covered with some form of off-white carapace. From reporters out on the planets, some of whom gave their lives to send these garbled messages, these monsters were unbelievably tough as they would run through hails of blaster fire as well as incredibly strong from the videos of them tearing open durasteel doors to get at their prey. Their speed was also amazing for such ungainly looking creatures, as they would covers dozens of meters in mere seconds in order to tear apart surprised peace-keepers. Beings all over the galaxy though: 'Surely it couldn't get worse than this? What in the name of the Corellian Hells could possibly make this worse?' As if fate had overheard: these questioners received their answers in the form of natural disasters.

Several of the planets that were locked in chaos were suffering from some degree of natural turbulence, ranging from tempests to earthquakes to solar flares. Some were more severe than others, but on some planets it appeared as if the whims of nature had wrought more havoc than the cultists had! A few unlucky planets had been completely ravaged by the combo of cultist uprisings and natural phenomena, their cities in ruins and their resources at an all-time low as they desperately attempted to rebuild and reorganize. This prompted the Senate to raise discussions on whether or not they would send aid to these afflicted worlds, and if so how much. They could not show favoritism after all, but several planets made much greater contributions than others.

Speaking of which, back on Coruscant the Senators watched a HoloNet News report in growing horror as a female human reporter gave on-site news on one of the worst hit planets in the Middle Rim. At least, she tried to as a storm was raging all around her while the sounds of construction vehicles and peacekeepers moved around in APC's, and that wasn't even taking into account the garbled nature of the report itself as it would randomly cut short, pause, or be hit by some other technical anomaly.

"The situation here on Murlock VII grows worse day after day as the peacekeeping forces have been pushed back to their last defensive perimeter after a massive earthquake shattered perimeters two and three! Evacuations are already underway as the peacekeeping forces desperately are trying to buy the citizens some time as-" At that precise moment the planets skies changed dramatically. Where there were once dark, formless clouds now was a swirling kaleidoscope of strange and vibrant hues of red, green, yellow, tan, and more. In conjunction with this incredible change the storm, which before was raging with so much force that sight was nearly impossible, now stopped allowing everyone a clear view of their surroundings.

"Amazing… Hey! HEY! Krull-Mag! Swing that camera up to the sky! I want hey what's that?" The reporter's commands were cut off as something began to fall from the sky. They were too big to be any form of precipitation, but were moving too slowly to be asteroids. A deep, raspy voice could as heard as the camera-alien asked "What are those things? Spores?" At that speculation the reporter laughed as she replied "Are you kidding!? Spores? How could spores start falling from-" and then something could be heard exploding. It wasn't a boom or a bang, or marked by a crackle of energy, but more of a sharp _pop_ followed by a sudden blast of air, as if a massive balloon had exploded.

Cries of shock and surprise could be heard at this sudden, unforeseen event that followed in a procession of surreal developments, but they were cut off as people, including the reporter, began falling to their knee's choking and gasping for air. "Alyss? Alyss? Are you alri-" The camera-aliens concerned inquiries were interrupted by a choked gasp of horror as he saw the reporters face. Her eyes were shrunken into her head and specks of bloodstained foam could be seen at her mouth. Her face was slowly turning pale as her myriad veins and capillaries began turning a dark shade of violet. She began to curl up into a fetal position while convulsing uncontrollably as other humans around her did the same. The effect on the other aliens around her ranged from uncontrolled bleeding from the eyes, nostrils, and mouths to some simply slumping over as their vital functions simply ceased. Some of the peacekeeper aliens began panicking, rushing over to check bodies to see whether they were still alive or merely comatose while others went berserk, screaming and raging while firing their weapons wildly before being put down by other, saner beings.

The camera-alien fell down, crawling backwards from the dying woman as he constantly mumbled "What the kriff is going on?" to himself while the dropped camera kept broadcasting. Due to its lens being pointed at the sky, the billions of viewers across the galaxy could see exactly what was going on: another, much faster rain of spores was coming down from the technicolor sky. These, unlike the first wave, did not explode but simply continued until they began hitting the city. Several hit the ground near the camera, and the horrified mumbles and cries of the survivors of the poison attack turned into terrified screaming as something came out of the pods. What happened next etched itself into the memories of every being that was watching and listening as the shrieking and roaring of some creatures could be heard alongside a clicking, clattering sound of claws as the sounds of flesh being torn filled the air. A gout of blood spray, ostensibly from the camera-alien, splattered the lens of the camera partially obscuring the sight, but before it was destroyed the device caught one glimpse of one of the monsters responsible for the slaughter: a vaguely reptilian face with a carapace 'helmet' running down to its nose, with red eyes gleaming with a savage hunger on either side of a maw filled with razor-sharp teeth. It gave a spine-tingling screech, before raising its arm and bringing a blood-red scythe down upon the camera, destroying it.

This video was greeted by shocked, horrified silence for a full fifteen seconds from its viewers before all around the galaxy a panic began. Meanwhile, other beings watching other news-stations that were covering some other planets being hit by the natural disasters and cults were wondering why those watching HoloNet News were freaking out, but revelation came when simultaneous attacks began to happen all over the galaxy, covered by dozens of unfortunate reporters who either died from disease, dissolved screaming in digestive acids, or were torn apart when the troop-carrying pods fell.

In the Senate, pandemonium reigned as the hundreds of Senators began their outcry, yelling out for news on whether or not their planets were hit to demands for an explanation as to why a concerted attack was not foreseen. In the wings, Yoda and Mace Windu fell back to the Jedi Temple having seen all they had needed to see while Palpatine began trying to process how this new development would affect his plans. Mas Amedda futilely tried to restore order to the panicking dignitaries while all around the galaxy, empire both legitimate and criminal began to arm themselves just in case this new threat struck them next.  
The Kaminoans simply stared at this new threat before ordering the immediate production of another million soldiers to complement the two hundred thousand battle-ready clones and the million nearly ready ones. On Geonosis and the other droid factories around the Galaxy, the factories were working overtime as their leaders desperately began stockpiling battle-droids in the hopes that, even if this new threat were to hit them, they would manage to weather the storm.

**Space Around Nar Shaddaa**

The space around Nar Shaddaa was filled with the ruins of ships, the remains consisting of hundreds of smuggler, pirate, and other assorted criminal ships. When they Tyranid fleets had arrived, they had arrived to a world that had managed to do fairly well due to the fact that on the crime-infested planet, to survive one needed a gun, so when the cults rose up they faced a militia only slightly smaller than the planets population. The cults were beaten down, but in light of the wreckage the uprising had left behind what little order there was on the planet broke apart as looters and raiders grabbed what they could. The appearance of the main Hive fleet had dashed all of these hopes of success, and a mass exodus from the planet with any and every vessel turned into a passenger ship (in return for credits of course). This mass exodus was met by a wall of living flesh as the fleets first blocked the ships from getting away from the planet to reach hyperspace, then obliterated them in a storm of bio-plasma, acids, giant hooks and spines, spore-mines, and pyro-acids. The fleet then turned its attention to the crime planet itself.

In its central Hive ship, the Tyrant had finished constructing its combat form and was about to set out to the planet along with the rest of the created army when reports of dozens of successful attacks flooded its mind. It quickly processed the information gained during the attacks, namely the lack of any universal military like the Imperial Guard and the weapons used by the defenders and reached the conclusion that either there was some sort of massive trap that the enemy was preparing for, or this galaxy would be very easy to consume. The blasters that had been used at best gave severe burns with the occasional loss of a limb, and at worst seemed to cause nothing more than scorch marks. It ordered the Hive Fleets around the galaxy to continue their process of constant expansion and consumption, deciding that any trap would be too weak to be of threat as it grew the spore which would carry it to the planet's surface around it.

The Hive Ships launched the next wave of spores, and among them was the ruler of this swarm.

**Nar Shaddaa Surface**

Koris was extremely nervous, fingering his makeshift blaster pistol as he walked alongside the rest of the thugs. When the living ships had first appeared, the general reaction had been first one of confusion, then of panic as the ships launched acidic bombs that would splatter areas hundreds of meters in diameter each before they launched those …monsters. Those things had torn through anything and everything in their path, and Koris himself had only narrowly escaped certain death by taking a small fall off of a building, into an abandoned alley where he had met the rest of his gang or rather, what was left of it. They had wandered the abandoned areas desperately searching for food, supplies, and some form of defense against those monsters. Then they had met Narath.

Narath had rallied the various remaining thugs, crooks, pirates, and bounty hunters on the planet that had not set forth from the star-port before it had been taken over by those creatures, and thus not slaughtered in the space 'battle' above Nar Shaddaa. His small army had been wandering around gathering survivors, groups or individuals, and had given them the offer to join his ever-expanding retinue. It now numbered almost three thousand, and he had become the de facto leader of the survivors as he attempted to manage an army composed of criminals. They had wandered aimlessly for a few days, until Narath had come up with a bold plan: retake the space-port and escape the planet.

The plan had been met with skepticism and Narath had nearly lost his life, until he pointed out that Nar Shaddaa depended on outside imports for resources and if they could not get off the planet they would starve. When they voiced protests and mentions about the massive fleet waiting in space, Narath had retorted with the simple fact that they had no other choice. Now Koris had been swept along with the mob until they were just a few hours from the star-port, and the young human was nearly out of his mind with worry.

While Narath and his men were wandering in search of supplies they had had to fight off small raids from the monsters daily, often losing ten or twenty men to a patrol of less than fifteen, and those numbers did not get any better the bigger the patrol. It had become a constant in their lives, and when they started moving towards the star-port they had expected to fight their way through. They had started to move yesterday and today, 39 hours later, they had not encountered a single raid or assault unit. While this may have emboldened the men to continue, helped along by Narath's proclamations of the invaders fearing a mob of such size, Koris had privately wondered whether or not this really was the case. When they had invaded the monsters had moved in a huge wave, easily numbering in the hundreds of thousands. They had completely overwhelmed the resistance the planets residents had put up and quite honestly, this mob wouldn't have put a dent into those hordes. However voicing these thoughts out loud would most likely have gotten Koris killed, so he kept his mouth shut and continued walking, hoping that somehow, he would make it through this alive.

He continued walking, and his mind soon retracted into a dull, half-asleep state as he moved his feet. He had lost track of time until Narath, in his incredibly loud voice, bellowed out "THERE IT IS! THE STAR-PORT!" Men rushed up over the ruins of their surroundings to look at the remains of the docks. It was in surprisingly good condition, and from here they could see at least two space-worthy ships that could easily carry five or six hundred passengers for a few weeks. They had the supplies, all they needed now was the transports and there they were, with more undoubtedly hidden away inside.

As one, the mob of aliens swarmed towards the space-port, not caring about the fact that by now something should have had, until they were at the entrance of the ship-docks. Then the spore-mines went off.

Koris was nowhere near the lethal organisms when they exploded, but he could hear their effects as the surviving victims screamed in pain, their flesh being dissolved away as the acids began to work. The vents around the shaken army tore open, allowing hundreds of small, maggot-like monsters with no eyes and a small carapace covering their heads as to spill out. As one the ripper swarms moved into the horrified gang, tearing apart anything that they surrounded with first the feet, then the legs, and then their bodies as they fell, screaming. Panic broke out amongst the remaining hundreds as they scattered, now knowing that they had been led into a trap.

Koris ran as fast as he could, with Naraths bellows and roars to stay and fight ringing in his ears until they were cut off in a horrified scream. Koris looked back, and saw a sight that would stay with him until the end of his days.

Narath, a huge, hairy alien that was vaguely reminiscent of a Wookie was suspended in the air, held aloft by the biggest monster Koris had ever seen. A long, bony sword protruded out of Naraths back, seemingly humming with some sort of energy while the monster raised one of the biological cannons on its arms and fired. The result removed most of Naraths torso in a hail of … _something_ as the lower half of the corpse fell to the floor. The beast stepped onto the pinnacle of the pile of body's it had been standing on, allowing Koris to get a good look at it and _roared_.

The monster was easily fifteen feet in height and was massively built. Its legs were stocky and the thighs were covered in purple carapace, with the off-white legs ending in massive talons. The beast had four arms, the upper two bigger than the lower pair. The left lower arm ended in a clawed hand with which it wielded the bone sword with which it had impaled Narath, while its right counterpart ended with a massive biological cannon bigger than Koris was. The upper two arms were a bit longer than the lower two and were a great deal thicker as well, and they both had two massive, blood-red scythes on them. The creatures appeared to have a thick carapace on its back from what Koris could see, and its head was crowned with a carapace 'helmet', almost like a crown. Its eyes were glowing yellow, and instinctively Koris knew that this being was intelligent. Its mouth was big enough to swallow his head whole, and was lined with thick, sharp needle-like teeth. There was a strange, dull green glow coming from the gap between the skin-covered ribs, and Koris had no wish to find out what it was.

The young man kept on running, straight past the screaming members with which he had marched towards his goal: a run-down smuggling ship that he had seen coming and going multiple times. He ran straight past the dying aliens as they cried for help as they were eaten alive, bit by bit by the ripper swarms. Ignoring them, he jumped straight through the half-open hatchway that had its entrance well above the ground, ensuring that it was free of those maggots. He slammed the control panel for the doors, closing them, and ran straight for the cockpit.

Koris had served on board a ship before he came to Nar Shaddaa and had learned how to fly from the pilots while in hyperspace. He ran to the controls and the ship began to fly. Seeing this, man and monster alike screamed. Desperate thugs tried to hold onto the ships underbelly but were dragged down by other, equally desperate survivors. The green glow in the monsters chest began to get brighter as the creature steadied its feet. Then, curling up slightly before throwing it chest forward, it roared as a searingly bright, hot glob of bio-plasma flew towards the ship. It flew right towards one of the engines and … missed, as Koris's hands slipped on the steering controls, causing the ship to lurch to the left and causing the globe to skim the top of the ship before melting a hole in the wall. The Hive Tyrant bellowed and turned his attention to the ragtag remainder, quickly being overwhelmed by the rippers. The ship, it decided, would have to wait another day.

Meanwhile, Koris was flying over the city at the ships top speed, desperate to reach the other side of the planet. He knew that if he had taken off right there and then, the fleet would have been waiting. While it may have also been on the other side of the planet, he was willing to bet that the concentration of ships, if there, would have been lesser. After about a minute of travel, Koris relaxed slightly as he realized he had managed to escape for now.

Thirty minutes later, Koris had decided that he had travelled far enough and began flying up, towards the upper atmosphere. While he was flying up, he began wondering where he was going to go. Most of the super civilized planets like Coruscant or Alderaan, or even Naboo were so far away it would be ridiculous to think that he would be able to get there in a timely manner. To do that he would need to hire a much faster transport. Idly, he took one hand off of the controls and rummaged through his pockets. They came back depressingly empty and he stared despondently at the screens on the control panel before he realized that this was a smuggling ship he was piloting. Surely there would be at least some odds and ends hidden in the holds? First order of business once he managed to get into space: check the cargo bays. Actually, check the whole ship just in case one of the things managed to stow on board.

His voyage into space was uneventful and once he saw that there were none of the biological ships here, he relaxed. He began to punch in the coordinates to Kashyyyk, desperately hoping that he would be able to get to Coruscant or some other such planet from there. As he entered hyperspace, he realized that he still had to check his newfound ship so, after it appeared there would be no problems with his trip, he left the cockpit to head for the cargo bay.

**Ruins of Nar Shaddaa Spaceport**

The Hive Tyrant was annoyed.

It had gone to the trouble to actually form a new body for itself, and had taken the time to come to Nar Shaddaa in person to oversee the complete and utter destruction of the remaining survivors. Granted, it had fulfilled this as the last of the ripper swarms were being dissolved in the reclamation pools and in a couple of hours, Nar Shaddaa would be a barren, lifeless, rock devoid of organic molecules like so many others before it. What irked the Tyrant, however, was the matter of the ship that had gotten away.

Once the Tyrant had dissolved itself and sent its consciousness back to the Hive Ships, it had realized that the fleet had not destroyed any vessels after the massacre of the exodus. This meant that the ship it had missed with the bio-plasma had managed to escape, as when it went over the information brought back from the ground swarms it realized that there were no signs of a crashed starship. However, as the Tyrant thought about the situation it realized that this apparent loss was in fact a net gain. The galaxy at large already knew of the Hive Fleets existence and the fact that it was a hostile entity, so really one survivor would do no harm. In fact, the knowledge of the starships speed was valuable, as now it had a basis on which it could formulate plans for combat in the air. Granted, one smuggling vessel was hardly the equal of a military-grade fighter, but it was a start.

The Tyrant went through the next several dozen targets on the psychic radar, and decided that none of these compared to the planet that this moon had orbited. It directed the Main Hive Fleet to Nal Hutta, where it would make major contact with its first real multi-planetary power. The Hutts would never know what hit them...


End file.
